Proper integration requires a tool of a different breed in order to tackle such a wide-ranging task. It must be easy to operate for many different levels of personnel within a company, and should be able to integrate similar data from other companies (COTS suppliers for one). It must also have a proven diagnostic engine capable of achieving unambiguous isolation at any analytical level and in any diagnostic scenario. This tool must therefore, at a minimum, offer the following:

Easy-to-use CAD/CAE interface

This provides the engineers with an understandable interface for developing/importing the schematics required within their department.

System-Level Drawing Capability

Before any analysis should be done at lower levels, there must be a well-defined system concept which creates the requirements for the lower level diagnostics. Also, program and project managers often need a picture to be able to convey the current state of the development effort.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

By storing all data in a cross-platform compatible format, it may be utilized and distributed between companies with mixed PC and UNIX workstations. Without this capability, certain COTS suppliers may not be able to produce data in a format which is useable by the integrator.

Proven Diagnostics

There must be a proven diagnostic engine capable of analysis at any level of the design, and at any time so that the tool itself does not create waiting periods. Engineers must be able to receive immediate and continual feedback about the requirements to date.

Links to other software tools

Without a mechanism to load/save data to and from other tools, much of a company's investment might be locked up in other software. Capabilities such as support for the EDIF format, the ability to retrieve schematic symbols from a vector file, and the ability to import spreadsheet data from an ASCII file greatly reduce the chances of the data flow being bottled up in another tool.

With all these features in mind, effective usage of the tool requires that it play a dynamic role throughout the life of the product. Initially, the diagnostic characteristics of the system must depict choices being made with COTS components before the functionality of the design is frozen. It must also be capable of recognizing the diagnostic effectiveness currently achieved, along with the results of possible alternatives.

It is also too often forgotten that, being ultimately and intimately involved with the actual testing of a design, the Test Engineer can make a positive impact by being included in this process rather than relegated to a tail-end effort. For instance, certain test points might be useless due to the type of tests they require. Furthermore, a Test Engineer can often, with the use of the right tool, combine Failure Mode testing (in which diagnostics are based upon specific failure symptoms) with Functional testing (in which diagnostics asses the correct functionality of a device) to substantially reduce the overall costs of meeting the requirements.